Agitating-cooker.



W. J. SGHAEFER. AGITATING COOKER.

APPLICATION FILED APBA, 1910..

Patented Novi19, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

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W. J. SGHABPE'R. AGITATING, HOOKER. APPLIOATIQH FILED AYRA, 1910.

1 ,4 ,822. Patented Nov. 19, 1912 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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27 0672502: William J ,S'ohaefen WILLIAM J. SGHAEFER, OF ONTARIO,CALIFORNIA.

AGITATING-COOKER.

Specification of Letters latent.

Application filed April 4,1910. Serial No. 553,417.

To all ,whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. SoHAErnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ontario, in the county of San Bernardino and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Agitating-Cooker, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to apparatus for cooking cannedgoods in the can, and the main object of the invention is to provide anapparatus for this purpose which will reduce the time required for thecooking operation and the amount of labor involved therein.

.Another object of the invention is'to dispense with the chains andtrays generally tation of the cans while passing through the cooker. v IAnother object of the invention is to minimize the amount of floor spaceand the amount of power, water and steamrequired in such a cooker.

Another object of the lnvention is to pro vide a cooker for use in thecanning operation which will operate in accordance with the single linecontinuous operation of the rest of the process. In most of theoperations involved in canning fruit, etc, the can passes successivelyfrom one operation to another in a single line, but when the cookingoperation is reached it has been generally necessary to break up thisline in that the cans are removed from the line and placed in trays insets, which are then carried by suitable mechanism into the hot Watertanks for the cooking operation. This breaking up of the single lineoperation involves loss of time and of efliciency in the process, and animportant feature of the present invention is that the continuous singleline feature is maintained in the cooking a transverse section on theline w-w in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan of the can conveyors. The apparatuscomprises a case 1, mounted for example on legs 2, and provided withmeans for feeding cans at one end thereof, means for delivery of thecans at the other end thereof, means or heating the interior of thecasing, and means on which the cans are rolled and means by whichthe'cans are conveyed through the casing from the intake to the deliverymeans.

racemes Nov. to, 1912.

The intake or feed means may consistof f a chute 3 extending adjacent toan intake opening 4 at one end of the casing 1, said intake openingbeing, for example, near the top of the case. -Leather flaps indicatedat 5 may be provided for maintaining more or less perfectly thecondition of closure at the intake opening 4:, said flaps being adaptedto engage with the can indicated at 6 as it passes through the intakeopening to substantially close the space between the can and the wallsof the casing. The outlet or discharge means may consist of a chute 8 atthe delivery opening 9 at the opposite end of the case and at the lowerportion thereof, and similarly provided with closure flaps 5'.

"The means on which the cans are rolled and the means by which the cansare conveyed from the intake to the delivery opening comprise one ormore superposed conveyers, each conveyor consisting of a pair of trackrails 12 extending longitudinallyin the case and two parallel shafts 10,journaled in bearings 11 on the casing 1, said shafts extending onopposite sides of the track means 12 and being adapted to receive the'cans between them and each of said shafts being provided with a spiralor helical rib 10, said ribs extending in sections between the ends ofthe case with one or .vide the necessary support for the shafts 10, suchintermediate bearings being indicated at 15. In order to economizelongitudinal space it, is preferable to provide a series of theseconveying devices located one above another so as to convey the cansforwardly and backwardly through the casing from the intake to thedelivery means, three such conveying devices being herein shown, but itwill be understood that there may be more or less according tocircumstances. All of the conveying devices are operated in unison bymeans of gearing, comprising, for example, worm wheels 17' on therespective shafts 1O engaged by worms 18 on a vertical shaft 19journaled in bearings 20, and operated, for example, by beveled gearing21, 22, from the driving shaft 23.

Transfer mechanism may be provided for transferring the cans from eachconveyor to the succeeding conveyor, said transfer mechanism cmnprising,for example, a star wheel 24 at the initial end of the top conveyor andbetween each of the conveyors, said star wheels lniving cradles 2stadapted to receive the cans and to swing them into position on theconveyor from the precedent convcyer or from the feed means 3, as thecase may be. Shields or guard strips 25 are provided adja cent to eachtransfer means to guide the cans in the operation of said transfermeans. Said transfer devices may be operated by any suitable means, forexample. by belt or other connections indicated M30, 31, 32

from the shaft 19. p

The cooking is preferably done by means of steam admltted to theinterior of the casing through pipes 26, having steam. supplyconnections 27, said pipes being perforated as at 26 to discharge steaminto the interior of the ease, and being located directly above or belowthe series of cans on the con- 'veyers. Said heating means, except inthe case of the uppermost one, extend between the conveyors so that thespace which is left between the conveyors for the operation of thetransfer devices is utilized for receiving such heating means and theheat is delivered close beneath the cans in the most effective positionfor delivering the heat to the cans without waste.

The operation is as follows: The cans are fed or supplied in acontinuous single line on the chute 3 as indicated at 6, and the gearingbeing set in motion the first transfer device 24- operates to carry thecans, one at a time, on to the first conveyor constitutedby the parallelshafts 10 and said parallel shafts being rotated by the gearing 22, 21,17 and 18, the helical ribs 10 on said parallel shafts 10 cause the cansto roll forwardly along the track rails to the other end of the casing1, it being understood that the said cans are deposited by the transfermeans 2t into position on the track rails 12 between the pair of shafts10 so as to run on said track rails and be engaged by the said helicalribs. At the said farther end of the casing the second transfer device 21 operates to carry the cans from the first to the second conveyor, theshield 25 serving to hold or guide the cans in proper position in thistransfer operation. The cans then proceed forwardly through the case andare delivered by the third transfer mechanism to the third conveyor, andso on, the last conveyer delivering the cans to the deliver chute 8.During this operation steam supplied to the interior of the cas ing 1through the pipe connections 26 and 27 and the heat thereby imparted tothe cans effectually cooks the contents thereof. In this cookingoperation the rolling over and over of the cans by the engagement therewith of the rotating helical ribs on the conveyer means causes agitationand intermixing of the contents of the cans so as to expedite thecooking. I have found that by using steam heatand agitating or turningover the cans in this'manner, the time required for cooking can bereduced fully onehalf as compared with the usual hot water process.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a casing, means for feeding cans into the casingat one end thereof, track means extending within the casing and adaptedto receive the cans from the said feeding means, parallel shaftsextending within the casing and provided with helical ribs constructedto engage beneath the cans to run the same forward on said track means,and means for rotating said parallel shafts.

2. The combination of a casing, means for feeding cans into the casingat one end there of, track means extending within the casing and adaptedto receive the cans from said feeding means, conveying means forconveying the cans along said track means comprising parallel shaftsextending at opposite sides of said track means and adapted to receivethe cans between them, said. parallel shafts being provided with helicalribs for engaging beneath the cans at opposite ends thereof to run thecans forward on the track means in the rotation of said parallel shafts,and means for rotating said parallel shafts.

3. The combination of a casing, a pair of track rails on which the cansare rolled, a

heating pipe between the track rails, parallel shafts between which thetrack rails are located, having helical ribs adapted to engage beneathand convey the cans on the track rails, and means for rotating theparallel shafts in opposite directions.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los AngelesCalifornia this 28th day of March 1910.

WILLIAM J. SCHAEFER.

In presence of- ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, FRANK L. A. GRAHAM.

